“Nalu, where are we heading next?”

Wandering without a goal felt like drifting through fog, so I finally broke the quiet and asked.

“Hmm…” Nalu’s gaze turned inward, thoughts rippling like water. “Since you and your friends don’t need supplies and don’t want the entertainment districts, how about the auction house?”

“The auction house?”

The word lit a spark, like a lamp catching oil; back home, novels and comics loved that stage.

“Do they actually sell anything good there? It won’t be low-tier junk again, like that gear shop with tin trinkets, right?”

“Staring at low-grade stuff feels like chewing stale bread.”

Unlike me, Lingxiao and Lingsaki wore calm faces like still ponds and had zero expectations for the place itself.

“Auction houses… I know a bit,” Lixue said, hair swaying like frost-tipped willow. “But I don’t really like that kind of scene.”

“Honestly, an auction probably won’t cough up anything worthwhile.”

Even Lanxia looked bored, eyes half-lidded like a lazy cat in sun; apparently, I was the only one intrigued.

“Now, don’t write it off so fast.” Nalu’s smile lifted like dawn over rooftops. “Moonhundred City’s auction house gathers oddities and treasures from all over the realm. We can watch the bustle like lanterns on a festival night. And there’s a grand sale today—someone’s putting a divine artifact on the block.”

“A divine artifact?” Lixue’s interest rose like a veil lifting. “Then let’s take a look.”

“Lingxiao, Lingsaki, what about you two?”

With their arms looped around mine like ivy on a pillar, the sisters answered in unison.

“We said it already! Dear big brother, wherever you go, we shadow you like birds to a hawk!”

“Same here. If you’re there, the place is spring no matter the map.”

“This dragon too! I’ll follow Yumigawa-kun forever, like scales to flame!”

I hadn’t even asked Lanxia, but her energy flared like a bonfire in a winter yard.

“So, no objections?” Nalu’s tone chimed like a silver bell.

“None. Next stop: the auction house.” I gave a nod, crisp as a blade’s edge.

“Then let’s move! Hey, coachman over there—come quick and take us to the Moonhundred Auction House!”

“Right away, honored sirs and ladies! Please wait a moment!”

Soon, an oversized, lavish carriage rolled up, panels gleaming like a gilded shell. It had Colton’s fingerprints all over it; ordinary carriages don’t strut with this much shine.

About half an hour later, the carriage came to a halt before a grand, imposing building, its facade like a mountain carved by careful hands. The crowd here surged like a river, far from the quiet eddies of that earlier street.

Most wore adventurer gear, leather and steel catching light like fish scales; now and then, middle-aged folk in rich robes drifted by, their steadiness like old trees in wind—nothing like the brainless noble brats we’d met earlier.

“I presume you’re the honored members of the Mizumi Clan and friends? Welcome, welcome!”

As we stepped down, a beautiful woman approached, curves like a swan’s line and eyes bright as glass. “I’m Qirui Binsair, current head of the Moonhundred Auction House. Your presence is a supreme honor. Please, come in—your best VIP suite is already prepared.”

“You’re from the Binsair royal line?” I asked, voice light as a tossed pebble.

“A mere collateral branch, not worth mention,” Qirui replied, bowing like a reed to wind.

“I see. Lead the way.”

“As you command. This way, please.”

We followed Qirui through doors carved like frost on lacquer, and the crowd parted around us like waves opening for a prow.

“Who are they? Why’s everyone making way and bowing like fallen leaves?” a little girl whispered, eyes round as moons, to the elder beside her.

“Miss, mind your manners,” the elder said, voice soft as worn cloth. “They’re from the Mizumi Clan.”

“The Mizumi Clan? Are they really that strong? Why is everyone scared of them, and why did His Majesty send those noble young masters home for them?” The girl’s questions tumbled like marbles.

“Of course they’re strong,” the elder replied, palm warm on her head like a quiet hearth. “The Mizumi Clan is the most powerful family in the world—no, in all history. Their dominance has stood for centuries, unmoved like stone under storm.”

“Really that strong?!”

“Mm. Very strong. You know the Central Continent, right, young miss?”

“I do!” Pride flared in her eyes like a banner. “I started geography last week. There are five continents, and the largest and richest is the Central Continent.”

“Did your teacher say the entire Central Continent is the Mizumi Clan’s domain?”

“No… wait, what?!” Her shock burst like a firecracker. “That’s the Central Continent! It’s twice the size of the Northern Abyss Continent! How could the Mizumi Clan occupy it all?”

“You’ll have to study that,” the elder said, smile leaning into mystery like mist over bridges. “Tomorrow’s history or geography will cover it.”

“Eeeeh, don’t do that—tell me now! I can’t stand not knowing!” The girl tugged his sleeve like a sparrow pulling at silk.

“If I say it, the fun dissolves like sugar in tea. Better you find it yourself. It’s getting late—we must hurry inside. The master ordered me to win that magic item for you.”

“Fine… I guess.”

Elsewhere, in a shaded corner, three or four figures stood wrapped head to toe in black robes, their hoods embroidered inside with motifs of dark violet flames; at the heart of each blaze, the characters for Dark Demon burned like ink.

“Lady Lixin, the Mizumi Clan’s people have entered the auction hall.”

As the words dropped like pebbles, Lixin’s silhouette appeared ahead out of empty air, blooming like shadow under moonlight. “The Mizumi Clan loves their procession,” she said, tone cold as frost. “Wherever they walk, the world kneels.”

“Yes. Their status here is transcendental, like stars above roofs. Even in the divine realm and the demon realm, they’re treated with reverence.”

“Ever since the war ended, for centuries, they’ve contributed nothing,” Lixin hissed, anger flickering like a storm’s edge. “Yet they still monopolize the Central Continent and bask in worship. It’s absurd.”

“You’re right, my lady. That’s why we, the Dark Demon, aim to topple this idle Mizumi Clan, like lightning severing a rotten tree.”

“Fine ambition,” Lixin said, lips curving like a thin blade. “Let’s enter the Moonhundred Auction House. Did you secure the invitations?”

“Rest assured. We got not only invitations but a VIP room, set like a trap behind silk.”

“Good.”